We are deeply saddened to share the sudden passing of John Varah – a cherished member of the otudoor arts outdoor arts community.
As Director of Same Sky, he became one of the great visionaries of outdoor arts. He worked on countless projects: the Whispering Woods events during the London 2012 Games, the Town to Earth programme in Horsham, and most recently the Cultural Quarter work in Crawley. He led Brighton Festival’s Children’s Parade for many years, created the iconic Burning the Clocks, Glow Wild at Wakehurst, worked with Melas across the region with Cohesion Plus, helped shape the celebrations that marked Brighton & Hove becoming a city, and somehow found time to design one of the ITV logos with his wife Hazel. There were countless other strands to his career, including work as a pyrotechnics consultant for the Commonwealth Games.
But John’s legacy goes far beyond his remarkable body of work. He was a connector, mentor and collaborator — someone who inspired others to dream bigger and helped make those ambitions possible. His generosity with knowledge and time, his curiosity, and his quiet leadership shaped not only projects but people across generations of artists and producers.
Alongside him throughout all of this was Hazel, his wife, partner and fellow artist. Together they formed one of those rare creative partnerships that seemed greater than the sum of its already remarkable parts.
John’s loss will be felt deeply across the outdoor arts community and beyond. Our thoughts are with Hazel, his family and all those who had the privilege to work with and learn from him.
With thanks to Paul Ackerley, this article and accompanying photos are based on his original Facebook post.
